Lovebird
by Cosmik
Summary: (one-shot)- Trading presents is always a way to show affection towards someone... What if the gift means more than that? AshMisty Read and review please, I think you'll like it


"Lovebird "

Disclaimer: I don't own pokémon…

That's it, my first one shot, and a big one I think… I'm sorry for not writing for sooo long, but I think I'm having a writer's block… Anyway, I think the next story I'll update will be "Love is to banal", followed by "Leaving your heart behind". I already started the next chapter of "Broken memories", but I have to get in the "angsty" mood if I want to write something decent, so you'll have to be a bit more patient…

More notes in the end of this fic, but I hope you like it…

* * *

Ash tapped his foot in the ground again.

Not even the peaceful sunset in front of him could calm him down. She was late. No, he was the one who arrived half an hour earlier to their… Meeting. It was just that. A simple meeting. A meeting where he would give her his present…

He rather preferred to give it to her in the presence of the others, but then again, it would be just as awkward… Or not. He didn't know exactly. But he'd better not even think about it, because his mom had been strict when she warned that all gifts should be handed in private… He often thought that she had somehow cheated that damned… Game? That's what she had called it. But he preferred to refer to it as "the nightmare"…

It had all started with that innocent dinner his mother had given…

"Oh, it's just a chance to have all the friends in the same table having a decent meal for once…" she had said with a small, reassuring smile, trying to convince him.

What could he have done? Deny that little favour his mother was asking? No, he had to say yes… Although he did moan a bit, but she already knew Ash would say yes… Since the very first moment she said those words… It was that good, old blackmail that, unfortunately, came tied to the family bonds… Always.

But what harm could come from a simple dinner between friends? None, if this was a regular dinner… But Delia Ketchum had plans to ruin the peaceful indulgence Ash was savouring…

The dinner itself had been ok… Fun actually. He had loved to be with his friends. They had had the chance to talk, laugh, and even argue, because Misty was obviously there… And they had invited Brock, Tracey, May, Max and Professor Oak too, so everything was quite intimate and nostalgic, a perfect night if his mom hadn't said those words…

"Mss Ketchum, this was an amazing meal as always… I envy your talent in cooking!" Misty said sincerely, getting up from the table and handing her plates.

"Thank you Misty dear!" Delia replied with a warm smile "But please sit down, we're going to play a little game…" she added, putting the rest of the dishes in the sink.

We're going to play a little game… 

Yeah right, she made it sound like they were going to play hide and seek, or a match of cards… But nooo, it was so much more than that…

Ash remembered how he felt uneasy when he saw his mother approaching the table with a large bag, apparently empty.

"I was already foreseeing my doom…" he said in a low tone, rubbing his hands trying to calm down, and at the same time, controlling the urge to look at his watch… Again.

Delia sat down at the table, putting the bag in her lap, as if trying to hide its contents from Ash… Strangely enough, while he was absolutely anxious, everyone else was quite relaxed… Even _too_ relaxed, suspiciously happy, smiling to one another, and trying to suppress a few giggles… Well, everyone but Misty, who was equally nervous and apprehensive, looking at him with slightly frightened eyes…

He should have known…

"We're going to play a little game called 'the invisible friend'…" his mom informed, smiling wider "It's quite simple really: here I have a small bag with everyone's names written in pieces of paper. I'm going to hand you the bag and you'll take a piece of paper. The name you end up with, is the person you'll have to give a present… And I have to add that all presents _must_ be delivered in _private_…" she said, stressing the word 'private'.

He had literally sunk in his chair. What would he buy if he took Professor Oak's name? Or May's? Or even his mother? So wrapped up in his own miserable thoughts, he didn't notice he was the first to take the paper.

"Ash honey, it's your turn first…" Delia said, her eyes glimmering with unexplainable happiness.

"Moooom…." he moaned, trying to get rid of the stupid game before something worse happened.

"Don't even try mister…" she replied with a severe tone "Everyone's waiting dear…" she added in a soft tone.

Ash frowned but took a piece of paper out. Immediately after opening it, his heart stopped an his mouth opened wide…

_Misty?_

He didn't even heard his mother saying that she had to pick another paper, since she had removed his name first, to avoid Ash picking his own name. And didn't notice that, in fact, she took another small bag full of papers, with the same exact name… _His_. If he had seen that, he would probably understand that his mom did the exact same thing to him, only changing the name in the papers: _Misty_.

But since he was far too distracted to see this, and the only other person who wasn't involved in the plan was too distant to notice anything, fate was running freely in an attempt to join two individuals… Fate, in the person of Delia Ketchum of course.

"Well, you have two days to give your present, and in the end we'll all see what everyone got. Now who wants some pudding?" Delia said cheerfully, while eyeing Ash and Misty discreetly.

"Where is she?" Ash asked in a low tone, looking at his gift nervously. Would she like it? He sure hoped so, because it had been really expensive… And also embarrassing to buy it… If he hid the whole story behind the present, it would be all right… Because if she found out what it _actually_ meant, then it would be definitely uncomfortable… And mortifying…

Why did he buy it after all? He shouldn't have heard what the woman in the store said… They were trained to convince the customers to buy anything, and he was an easy target obviously… But she seemed nice at that time… Supportive and kind, like his mother should have been when he asked her not to play 'the game'…

"What can I buy her?" Ash mumbled, while walking through dozens of stores.

She was already fifteen; he couldn't buy her just _something_! Pokémon items were too impersonal, she was far too old for teddy bears, or so he thought, he _couldn't_ buy her clothes and he _wouldn't_ buy her flowers… And so, he had kept dragging his feet around the long corridors of the mall, hoping to find something that would catch his attention and hopefully please Misty… Which wouldn't be an easy task, considering that, if possible, she argued with him even _more_ nowadays, and although they had been friends for years now, he knew she had changed… Who wouldn't notice that anyway?

"Oh, Misty developed into a pretty woman, don't you agree Ash?" his mom had said one day, nudging him softly with her elbow and smiling rather mischievously.

God, his mom knew how to be inconvenient… After all, she was the reason he was there now, sitting in a small fountain, in a park near his house, waiting for Misty.

Ash touched the small cage slowly and felt the nervousness overcome him again. Yeah, looks did deceive… Because the woman that had seemed pleasant before, was now another responsible for his humiliation…

When Ash had been ready to give up the search for Misty's present and return home to ask Brock some advices, which would be definitely a desperate move, he passed by a small, cosy pet shop that caught his attention.

"Well, she likes animals… Maybe I can buy her a small golden fish, since she loves water and all…" he thought, entering the small store a bit more confident.

Yes, it would be the perfect gift: it wouldn't be a distant gift, but then again, it wouldn't be _too_ 'friendly'… And he was sure she would like it, so all was good…

"Hello, can I help you?" a kind, middle-aged woman asked from the counter.

"Yes, I would like to buy a gift for a friend of mine…" Ash replied, looking around curiously.

"A friend?" the woman asked suspiciously, eyeing him rather indiscreetly, with a small smile in her lips.

"Yes, a friend…" he said blushing slightly, adding, in an attempt to change the subject, "She likes animals and loves the water, so I thought about giving her a fish…"

The woman smiled wider, with a warm look in her eyes and left the counter, putting her hands in his shoulders, guiding him through the store while squeezing them reassuringly.

"There, I think she would much prefer this one…" she said, pointing to a cage filled with a few small birds.

Ash looked at them puzzled, wondering why the woman thought Misty would like the birds better… Right, they were beautiful with their vibrant colours, but even so…

"I'm sure she'll like them. They're called lovebirds because they usually have only one mate during their whole life, and because they're really caring as you normally see them together in their cage… People often offer them to their loved ones because of this, and, may I add, I think it's rather romantic… " she said still smiling.

Ash remained quiet for a few seconds, especially after hearing the name of the birds… And the whole 'giving them to their loved ones' thing… What was the woman thinking??

"But, I, her… Were only friends!!!" he stuttered nervously, waving his hands frantically.

The woman snorted and crossed her arms cunningly, but replied simply:

"I'm sure she'll like it either way."

And so she took one of the birds and helped him choosing a cage for it, while Ash kept thinking about what he would say to Misty when he gave her the present.

"It's 200 dollars please." she said, rescuing him from his thoughts.

"What??? That much??" he gasped amazed "That's why you wanted me to buy it instead of the fish…" he added in a low tone.

"Sorry, but I still have a business to run…" she replied with a wink and a sly smile.

And he had finally bought Misty's gift… Although he became completely broke.

"Hi Ash…" a timid voice called from not too far.

Ash instantly got up and put himself in front of the cage, to block it from Misty's view. He then noticed that she was hiding something rather big behind her back too.

"Hi Mist…" he replied, looking at her and feeling his cheeks turning slight pink.

"I'm sorry I'm late… I lost count of time I guess…" she said with a small smile, blushing as well.

"Oh, it's ok, don't worry… I just got here too…" he lied, looking over his shoulder to check on the cage and its little inhabitant "So, what do you have in there? Your present? Giving it to someone after this meeting?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, I'm going to give it soon…" she replied with a somewhat anxious tone "And what are you hiding behind you? Something you want to me to see and ask my opinion?" Misty asked with a small smile, when she noticed his surprise.

"So you already saw it…" Ash sighed and tried to gather some courage "Well, in fact, I called you here not because I want to ask your opinion but because…" he stopped for a few moments and took a deep breath before continuing "I called you here because… Because I want to give this to you… I'm your invisible friend…" he said, moving away slowly and exposing the cage.

"Oh…" Misty mumbled, her eyes widening and her mouth opening ever so little.

"What, you didn't like it?" Ash asked, panic showing its way in his voice.

"_You're_ my invisible friend?? And you're giving _me_ a lovebird??" she shrieked, though taking a few steps towards him.

"So you already know this bird?" he continued, scratching the back of his head shyly.

Misty adverted her gaze to the ground while showing him what she had been hiding. It was a small cage, containing a bird… A _lovebird_.

"I… I'm… This… I'm your invisible friend too, and this is my gift…" she said stuttered, her face turning deep crimson.

"What…?"

So she knew about the meaning of the gift? Well, the meaning _most_ people gave to it but not him… _Right_?

"Wait; if she knows the meaning, and gave it to me… It means that…that…"

"Why did you gave it to me??" they both asked simultaneously.

Silence hovered again, as the two teens looked around everywhere but one another.

"The lady at the store…" Misty started "I went to buy you your gift I passed by her shop and I thought about buying you an hamster…" she chuckled a little "But then she somehow convinced me to buy the lovebird…" she ended apprehensively.

"And that's… All she said…?" he asked, hoping that she didn't know the whole story behind the birds.

Misty looked at him for a few seconds, pondering whether or not to tell him what the woman had told her in the store.

"No, then he'll get the wrong impression… But is it really wrong?" she thought to herself "Better keep it to myself… Things are good like they are and I don't want to complicate them… I think…"

"Yeah, that's all she said… And what about you?" Misty replied with a small smile.

"Hmm, yeah, the same thing…" Ash answered, half relived, and surprisingly to him, half disappointed.

"Well, time to actually give the presents right?" she asked with a sly grin.

"Sure…" he replied sheepishly.

They got closer and traded cages. A few more moments of silence before Misty closed her eyes and smiled happily.

"Oh Ash… Thanks for the gift, it was really sweet…"

"You're welcome… I liked yours too…" he answered before laughing lightly.

Misty smiled once more before saying in a lone tone:

"You know, I like… I like you…"

"What?" Ash asked, feeling his heart beat faster and his cheeks warm up once more.

"I… I like your present…" she replied uneasy, before turning around to leave.

He looked at her, tightened the grip in the handle of his cage and smiled knowingly.

"Hey Misty…" he said, watching her turn around to face him.

"Me too." He answered, with a soft grin.

They both smiled at each other, while the sun finally set down.

* * *

Done, finally!

I actually like how this turned out. I wanted to include some other characters love stories, but I thought this was already bid enough so here you have… In fact, when I first thought about this idea, I planned to make it a story with more chapters and more dramatic…

Anyway, for the ones who didn't get it, when Ash says 'me too', he's answering to Misty's first line 'I like you' and not the present. Meaning, he's saying that he loves her too, although I left the end a bit open, for you to decide how it ends.

I hope you like it! I'll start working on my other stories soon, and sorry again for taking so long… Meanwhile, enjoy.

_Cosmik_


End file.
